What 2 Million Active Geocaches Means to Me

Two million active geocaches is a big deal. But at the end of the day, two million active geocaches is a number. It’s hard to even imagine. Here’s a little perspective on the magnitude of two million. It takes you more than four months to blink two million times. About two million babies will be born around the world this week. And students spend two million minutes to complete four years of high school classes in the United States.

Two million active geocaches though, means adventure is closer than ever. Active geocaches can be found in more than 180 countries. Those at Geocaching HQ in Seattle weigh in on the significance. Cathy Hornback at Geocaching HQ has more than 11,000 finds. She’s been geocaching under the username Prying Pandora since 2003. She says two million active geocaches takes Geocaching into the mainstream, “It means we’re no longer the biggest game that no one has heard about.”

Jenn Seva, MissJenn, at Geocaching HQ says congratulations goes to geocache hiders, “Thank you so much for those quirky gems and amazing locations. Thank you also to those who take the time to award Favorite Points so that it’s slightly easier to choose my destinations.” (You can thank a geocache hider by sharing this video)

Recent “Corporate Day” at Geocaching HQ (no one really dresses like this at HQ)

MissJenn also helped power the worldwide geocaching volunteer community. Each of the two million active geocaches has volunteer reviewer fingerprints on them. Each geocache was individually reviewed. She says volunteers should take a moment to enjoy the milestone, “Being a steward of the game takes a lot of time and dedicated effort. Please take a moment to bask in a bit of the glory: beam with pride! Take a look at this awesome community that you have helped to create: one geocache at time, one forum thread at a time, and one translation at a time.”

Geocaching is now more than 12-years-old. Jon Stanley, Moun10Bike, has been geocaching since its infancy. He works at Geocaching HQ and says, “At the outset, I had no idea that this great game would ever get this big. When I placed Idaho’s first geocache back in 2000, there were less than 40 geocaches in existence, and I naively placed a hitchhiker in the geocache with the idea that it might someday visit every geocache in the world. Now we’re at two million. My hitchhiker, poor little Stash Hopper never had a chance!”

But Jon reminds us, “Remember, it’s not about the numbers! For this game to continue to thrive, we all need to become stewards of the game and push forward to new heights of creativity, cooperation, and commitment!” Well said.

Share your comments below. What does reaching two million active geocaches mean to you?

Share with your Friends:

2 million geocaches?! That means 2 million possible adventures to me. I love this game! Thank you to all the creative cache hiders and volunteers that help make those adventures possible.

http://www.facebook.com/joshua.garrison.37 Joshua Garrison

Amazing milestone! And think that two million is active geocaches. Think of all the other caches that have been published, but later archived. Think of all the time that went into those caches long past. Think of all those lost adventures that would have made the total well over two million.

TheAlabamaRambler

We’ve only just begun! Around 313 million Americans occupy 2.3 billion acres of land in just the USA! Two million existing caches world-wide is amazing, but that number gives us only an indication of a far more important number, one that is impossible to calculate. Call it the Enjoyment Quotient. It would be a combination of the number of geocachers, of new friends met, of personal interactions between people who would never have met otherwise gathering at events, the incalculable fun had and education gained while discovering so many new places. I have long claimed that geocaching is the best family game ever and I stand by that. With GPS use becoming ever more integral in our daily lives the future of geocaching is even more exciting than in our brief past!

CBM2

It means we will never run out of caches to find. Love this game! Cache on!

Coman123

With the issues with the 2,000,000th active geocache, it shows yet again, there should be a minimum find rule before hiding a cache rule.
But it also shows, that this game is here for a long time and can be enjoyed by everyone, anytime anywhere

Knut

2 million, that is a lot of caches! It means I will never run out of caches to find, although I may have to travel a bit further from home every time

What would have been interesting to know though, how many caches have been published in total over the years?

http://blog.geocaching.com Eric Schudiske

“Enjoyment Quotient” nicely put.

Cleopatra Cutler

I wish I’d known about Geocaching when I lived in Japan! It definitely adds a twist to traditional exploring.

Matthew Rine

That is a good idea that I agree with. People should have to get used to what geocaches are like before they’re allowed to create their own.

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The Geocaching Blog is the official blog of Geocaching HQ. You'll find geocaching trends, tips, tricks and a quick connection to the worldwide geocaching community.